It's like I'm in Kindergarten eating paste again...

[branderlee]

Greetings, fellow Whole30ers.

 

I'm coming to a close on day 8. For the most part my experience has been predictable according to the timeline. Days 1&2 were a breeze. 3 & 4 a bit on the crabtastic side. 6 & 7, everywhere I went became a perfectly acceptable place to nap... and then 8... 8 has been a bit of annoyance.

 

I have had this dry, pasty mouth the entire day. It's so bad, that I'll brush my teeth and rinse repeatedly, and It's back within minutes! I've drank plenty of water, so hydration is not an issue. I've skimmed over other threads and even googled it and the resounding solution is there's just a lack of carbs. However, my carb intake seems to be fairly normal. If anything, I'm concerned I'm eating TOO much! (is that a thing if its basically just meat and veggies?!)

 

Anyone else experience similar?

 

Thanks for your help!

[AmyS]

Hm... my first thought was to wonder whether you're eating enough fat.

 

But if you could post a couple days' worth of your meals, water intake, exercise, sleep, stress (any of that that you can recall, especially the food) maybe we could hone in on something for you.

 

Of course if you wake up tomorrow morning and it's all better, carry on!

[branderlee]

Hey Amy!

 

Ugh. Sadly I could probably tell you by memory everything I've eaten the past few days. (Food is my THANG!!) I'll spare you and just start from Sunday.

 

Sunday:
2 Apples
1 sandwich (with lettuce, not bread... unwich?) lettuce, turkey, tomato, 1/2 avocado
1 avocado

2 boiled eggs

4 (?) slices of bacon

 

Monday
2 boiled eggs

2 apples

1 orange

1 potato

1 banana

polska kielbasa

1/4 green bell pepper

1/4 red bell pepper

1/4 orange bell pepper

1/2 onion

almonds

 

Tuesday:
2 boiled eggs

cantaloupe

1 apple

1 banana

the bell pepper/oninion/ kielbasa mix (leftovers)

almonds

chicken breast

potatoes

 

Wednesday:
Almonds

banana

apple

bell pepper/onion/kielbasa mix (I know, boring.. I'm kind of a one trick pony when it comes to cooking)
cantaloupe

grapes

pineapple

 

 

I'm nervous about portions and I'm not sure I need to be. I've done weight watchers before and it's entire focus is portion size... but I've eliminated everything bad, I'm not sure I have to worry about that so much. Thoughts?

[ShannonM816]

I have no idea what to tell you about the thirst, but do you have the meal template? You're very fruit-heavy (2-3 servings a day is the recommendation, where a serving is about the size of your closed fist), and depending on serving sizes, possibly low on veggies (always go for veggies before fruit -- they're more nutrient dense). And it's hard to tell from your list, but maybe low on protein as well (a serving of eggs, if they're your only protein, is as many whole eggs as you can hold in your hand -- check out this thread for more on that.) 

 

Definitely don't worry too much about portion sizes. Eat at least the minimum listed on the meal template for all three meals. If you're hungry between meals, have a mini meal with at least some protein and fat and maybe some veggies. Your goal is to give your body plenty of good, nutrient dense food. 

[Vian]

Too much fruit and not enough of everything else. Look at sunday. The lettuce wrap sounds like one meal, then you just have 2 eggs (protein, but not enough for a meal) 4 slices of bacon (counts as fat for the purposes of whole30) avocado (more fat) and 2 apples (lots of sugar). That's MAYBE 2 meals worth of food. You should be eating 3 meals a day. On monday you have 4 servings of fruit and again barely 2 servings of protein and one serving of veggies all day. MORE VEGGIES AND PROTEIN. And just more food overall. That sausage pepper and onion mixture, was the 1/4 of each color pepper and 1/2 onion all of what you made, or were you estimating what you ate that day (like you used a whole pepper of each color when you made it, but ate 1/4 of what you made that day, which would equal 1/4 of each pepper for the day, then ate another 1/4 +/- another day, etc)? Because if you only used a 1/4 of each pepper and 1/2 an onion when you made the dish, then stretched that over 3 meals, then you are severely lacking food in general. I don't care how petite you are, you need to eat more. Forget weight watchers, forget calories, forget points and all that BS. 

 

Palm sized portion of protein AT EVERY MEAL

Thumb sized portion of fat (or 1/4-1/2 avocado or handful of olives or nuts) AT EVERY MEAL

fill the rest of your plate with vegetables AT EVERY MEAL

Eat 1-2 fist-sized portions of fruit if you want to WITH A MEAL, not as a snack or between meals.

Eat AT LEAST THREE meals per day, plus pre and post workout snacks if you work out. 

[AmyS]

Hey Amy!

 

Ugh. Sadly I could probably tell you by memory everything I've eaten the past few days. (Food is my THANG!!) I'll spare you and just start from Sunday.

 

Sunday:

2 Apples

1 sandwich (with lettuce, not bread... unwich?) lettuce, turkey, tomato, 1/2 avocado

1 avocado

2 boiled eggs

4 (?) slices of bacon

 

Monday

2 boiled eggs

2 apples

1 orange

1 potato

1 banana

polska kielbasa

1/4 green bell pepper

1/4 red bell pepper

1/4 orange bell pepper

1/2 onion

almonds

 

Tuesday:

2 boiled eggs

cantaloupe

1 apple

1 banana

the bell pepper/oninion/ kielbasa mix (leftovers)

almonds

chicken breast

potatoes

 

Wednesday:

Almonds

banana

apple

bell pepper/onion/kielbasa mix (I know, boring.. I'm kind of a one trick pony when it comes to cooking)

cantaloupe

grapes

pineapple

 

 

I'm nervous about portions and I'm not sure I need to be. I've done weight watchers before and it's entire focus is portion size... but I've eliminated everything bad, I'm not sure I have to worry about that so much. Thoughts?

I have some thoughts about your eating that may or may not have an impact on the taste/texture thing you've got going on today, but might have an impact.

 

WW people have a different idea about portions than Whole30 people, so I can understand that you might be a bit nervous.  But as Shannon pointed out, Whole30 portioning is a VERY simple matter.  The template link is very helpful, and I can abbreviate that even more for ya.  Here goes:

1. Eat a palm-size or two portion of protein

2. Eat 1-3 cups of veggies (at least)

3. Eat a thumb-size or more (possibly way more) of fat

4. Do that three times a day.

 

To portion out eggs, your portion is the number of whole eggs you can hold in your hand. Most women can hold at least three.

 

Nuts are a fat source on Whole30 (not a protein source).

 

I have not found a Whole30 compliant kielbasa, but you might have - but double-check that really obnoxiously super-tiny ingredients list hidden somewhere in the deeper recesses of a wrinkle of the package. (I'm not bitter about this phenomenon, as you can tell   )  Ingredients to look out for are sugar (especially sugar by any other name than the actual word sugar), msg, soy (as in soy protein, soy lethicin, etc.), carageenan, etc. 

 

Some or all of the above may be review for you, but you might rethink your meals according to the template and see where it leads you.  Many of us women who were used to counting calories, weighing food, examining portions with a microscope (not really but you get the idea), using all sorts of apps and devices to measure this and that about our food - well, for us Whole30 can come as a shock.  The basic message is to eat real food and eat what might seem like a lot of it.  I've been known to eat dinner out of my former cake mixing bowls.  And I'm pretty teeny. 

 

Based on what I'm seeing here, your meals could be bigger.  How's that for an analysis of your portions? 

 

I'd suggest eating more, according to the template.  It's recommended that you eat within an hour of rising; and that meals should satisfy you for at least four hours.  If you are hungry between meals, that's fine, eat up!  Have a mini-meal featuring fat and protein.  Then the next morning eat a bigger breakfast and see how it goes.

 

What this will do for the taste/texture you're enduring right now, I'm not sure.  I'm kind of guessing that it will help, but I'll be interested to hear.  Let us know how it goes!

[branderlee]

Oh nooooooooooo!

Meals: I'll plan better. I had no idea. I mean, I had looked at recipes on the insty page and looked at other blogs and such.

 

I'm a big girl (200+ lbs) So I don't exactly feel hungry. I'm constantly wanting the comfort foods but I'm not HUNGRY for anything, really. I'm trying to be healthy by forcing myself to eat. I'm genuinely shooting for healthier lifestyle habits. If that's all I get from this, it's enough for me... this round.

 

Fruit is just.. way easier than vegetables. I have several things in the fridge, just not an appropriate time to get it together. (Full time working adult and student here.)

 

As for the kielbasa, I found a Whole30 participator blog and a recipe directed me to a brand. However, I didn't look at the label. So here's my next question: Do I have to start over?!? :( :( 

[Vian]

It depends on what the ingredient was. If it was a little sugar that you unknowingly ate, then no, that's not a restart. If it was gluten/grains, carageenan, dairy, or soy, then yes. Or at least add on extra days to the end of your whole30 to make up for it. Basically, gluten/grains, carageenan, dairy, soy, etc. are major gut irritants and some people are intolerant of them, but have no idea because they've never stopped eating them long enough for their bodies to heal from the damage. I found out I was gluten intolerant from doing a whole30, and then found out I was sensitive to almonds and mustard from doing the autoimmune protocol. I'd been eating wheat products almost daily my whole life and never thought I had an issue with them, until I went 30 days without them, then when I reintroduced wheat, within 30 minutes I feel like I have a bad head cold. It happens every time I have wheat. 

 

I'm also about 200lbs. and I'm 5'9" and built like a viking. For breakfast, I have 3 eggs fried in ghee and half a medium sweet potato cubed and roasted in oil salt and cinnamon. Lunch is always leftovers from dinner the night before, which is always about 5-8 ounces meat and 1-3 cups veggies. Tonight I had grilled chicken breast, about a cup of sauteed zucchini in ghee  with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and roasted and mashed acorn squash with ghee and a little salt (also about a cup). Lastnight I had a pork chop with sauteed apples, onions, and cabbage with a little cinnamon and a splash of vinegar. Mixing bowl salads are also a favorite, with lots of olives, cucumbers, shredded carrots, and meat of some kind (grilled chicken, lamb burger, regular burger) sometimes I'll add bacon or a couple hard boiled eggs as well. And by mixing bowl, I mean I serve the salad in a mixing bowl. I usually use a whole heart of romaine for one meal-sized salad. 

 

The whole idea of calories in = calories out is deeply flawed. The quality of the calories matters. The source of the calories matters. The timing of the calories matters. The form the calories are in matters. I feel like I eat so much on a whole30, and yet I ALWAYS lose weight when I do one (about 5-10lbs.) You have to nourish your body with real, whole foods and it will let go of excess weight. Your body adjusts your metabolism to account for extra calories when they are from real, natural sources. Sugars, grains, processed empty calories all disrupt your hormones, make your body unable to read it's own signals. When you eat real, whole foods, your body rebalances and will naturally find it's healthy weight. It might take longer than you'd like, and the final number might not be what you thought it should be. But trust me, even if the pounds don't come off, your body composition will change dramatically. I saw more difference in the way I looked from losing 15 pounds eating paleo than I did from losing 40 pounds eating a normal low calorie diet and exercising daily.

[AmyS]

Deep breath, the Whole30 is a learning process as well as a 30-day experience.

 

Make sure that your sources are really Whole30 - there are some out there that are not.  Many folks here swear by Melissa Joulwan's theclothesmakethegirl.com and Michel Tam's nomnompaleo.com.  If you go to Melissa's blog and search under Whole30, you can find meal plans for an entire Whole30.

 

Not having much time means you'll need to maximize the time you have.  A weekly cookup, discussed in It Starts With Food and also on Melissa's blog and her first cookbook, Well Fed, can help you get ready to eat with a minute or two of prep for several meals per week.

 

As to whether you need to restart, it depends entirely on the ingredients in the kielbasa.  Sugar is not a cause for a restart (just stop eating it); soy in any form and/or carageenan are causes for re-starts.

 

The main message I hope you take away from this conversation is that we really want you to eat very very well.  Hunger cues change quite a bit over the course of a Whole30, and comfort can be found in feeding ourselves really well.  So go ahead and wake up tomorrow and eat a good breakfast, and carry on with your Whole30.  Then check the ingredients on that kielbasa and see how much longer you'll be going to make 30 compliant days.

 

Hang in there, eat up, and did I say to eat up?  Eat up!

[branderlee]

Gosh guys. Thank you.

 

Just read.. Soy :'( Looks like tomorrow is day 1 all over again.   I don't understand how I'm going through the normal phases, but still had it in the diet. How disheartening.

 

Thanks for all the tips, Amy. I'll be bulk cooking this weekend.

[AmyS]

That's the spirit!  You got this.

 

(While you're at it, just make sure to check the "sandwich" turkey meat too.  It's very very hard to find compliant deli meat. You'll soon discover that food manufacturers load food up with unhealthy additives and then call the food healthy.  Eeps!)

[Guest Andria]

Just wanted to emphasize to be careful using instagram and blogs claiming to follow the Whole30. I have seen some completely off base meals: smoothies, monkey salad(bananas, nuts, coconut flakes) for breakfast, paleofied coffee creamers etc.  As Amy mentioned, Melissa Joulwan's blog (www.theclothesmakesthegirl.com), both her Well Fed cookbooks and Nom Nom Paleo's blog and cookbooks are all the excellent resources.  AND always read labels even if someone here, on the forum, recommends a product.

Good luck to you!

[branderlee]

Hey Amy,

I went to Whole Foods tonight in search of alternatives. I've been reading labels incorrectly this whole time. (Nutritional facts trumping the actual list of ingredients.)

Anywho, I renemebered what you said about finding whole30 compliant kielbasa. Buuuut I think I found one!

http://www.wellshirefarms.com/allergy-free-foods-database/08300-Smoked-Fresh-Turkey-Kielbasa

[AmyS]

Hey Amy,

I went to Whole Foods tonight in search of alternatives. I've been reading labels incorrectly this whole time. (Nutritional facts trumping the actual list of ingredients.)

Anywho, I renemebered what you said about finding whole30 compliant kielbasa. Buuuut I think I found one!

http://www.wellshirefarms.com/allergy-free-foods-database/08300-Smoked-Fresh-Turkey-Kielbasa

RockNRoll!!!!

 

Also look at Aidell's chicken apple sausage.  Check ingredients, because there are regional variations, but this one has been fairly reliable.

 

Hooray and happy kielbasa!

[CaGirl]

Buy the book and read it.. Then you'll have all the tools you need right there.. 

[Stacy R.]

To answer your original question, when our bodies go into ketosis, which means our bodies are burning from our fat stores instead of our carb stores, some side effects are dry mouth and bad breath.

More info:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/180858.php

[MeadowLily]

Just wanted to emphasize to be careful using instagram and blogs claiming to follow the Whole30. I have seen some completely off base meals: smoothies, monkey salad(bananas, nuts, coconut flakes) for breakfast, paleofied coffee creamers etc.  As Amy mentioned, Melissa Joulwan's blog (www.theclothesmakesthegirl.com), both her Well Fed cookbooks and Nom Nom Paleo's blog and cookbooks are all the excellent resources.  AND always read labels even if someone here, on the forum, recommends a product.

Good luck to you!

Good one.   I've noticed the same things.   I laugh everytime I read the non-compliant Breakfast of coconut flakes, coconut milk and blueberries as a swapped out version for boxed cereal.